Kansutoppu! Arc 2

Chapter 10 – The Night The Mystery Started

I showed Pablo the containers filled to the brim with water. The staff was in a good mood as they carried the containers inside.

“Yeah~, but hey aren’t you such a [powerful] girl? I can’t really think of you being a D rank”

“T-thank you.”

Pablo went around in circles to look at me, he looked at me from top to bottom, from every angle.
Feeling embarrassed, I moved away from him.

“You will be considerably compensated for this you know. By the way, have you girls eaten yet? If you’re fine with it you can eat here. Of course it will be free.”

I was attracted to the offer as my stomach started growling. Roel was quite hesitant, but just as I thought she couldn’t win against hunger either. I ended up ordering the fried chicken for lunch and Roel got gyuudon.
Despite her appearance, Roel was quite the big eater.
Even though she was quite a reserved person, she ate not only the gyuudon but also a sandwich and some pasta.
Pablo was even startled by her appetite.
It seems that the food called gyuudon was from a distant island country.
Pablo boasted about the food in this shop, it has recipes from a wide variety of foreign countries.

“It was delicious, thanks for the food.”

“I’m sorry……..just now I was unbelievably hungry.”

Looking meek and without raising her face, Roel apologized about eating too much.
She actually left one of her dishes so clean there wasn’t even a grain of rice or splash of sauce left.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Promising adventurers should eat a lot to get some [power]!”

“Oh that’s right, Pablo-san. We fought a cobra in that cave, what floor was that monster from? It was really dangerous.”

“Cobra?”

Looking blankly, Pablo crossed his arm.

“For many years now, many adventurers have taken this quest. But I haven’t heard of any of them saying something like that.”

“Eh, then, it was first time this happened?….I wonder where that monster came from?”

“You girls, did you defeat it?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, I was careless. If that kind of thing is there then from now on nobody less than C…..no, nobody less than B rank should take this quest. But then the expenses…”

While Pablo was grumbling, Pablo crossed his arm and walked around.

“But to do something like completely defeat it, you guys are amazing, yeah. I like you guys. And because of that.”

Cutting off the casual conversation, Pablo made a serious face.

“You might die you know. This old guy has seen many adventurers come here. Just yesterday I saw adventurers having fun drinking and I haven’t seen them since around here.”

Pablo had a bitter face while talking, but as we were leaving he saw us off with a smile. As we were leaving his bar, I noticed the sun was starting to set.
The reward we were given was 600g. We received it even though it was supposed to be 300g. After arriving at the guild, Roel went inside the iron box to measure her level. She did a little guts pose when she came out.

“My level increased to 5!”

“That’s amazing! But I wonder why you leveled up by 2 even though I was the one that defeated the monsters.”

Maybe its because she hit the cobra…no that can’t be it.

“You guys, aren’t you in a party? If that’s the case you’ll receive the experience together no matter who defeated the monster.”

Aude came out from the neighboring iron box. I remembered that I don’t get along well with this guy from the last time during the rescuing mission. No matter what this guy does, he will always stir up some trouble.
If it wasn’t for me and Gantetsu he would’ve died. I wonder if this guy has reflected on that.

“But in exchange, the experience you received as one person will be decreased. That’s why I do things solo.”

I suspected him of having ulterior motives. He seems to be the type to talk to anyone he crossed paths with.

“See ya” he said as he went out of the room. I don’t like hearing it from him, but I got some good information. I guess we’re sort of even now.

/ / /

When we went back home I immediately started studying.

“Err.. this is [ろ(ro)]”

“So, [Ro] for Roel”

I started learning how to read and write a little bit. Roel being gentle while teaching helps a lot. But when I make a mistake…

“Wrong! This is [え(e)]”

She scolds me. It seems I am really bad at studying. Within 5 minutes I always become drowsy, but when that happens Roel will go “No!”.

“Roel, it may be impossible for me……”

“It’s going to be all right, because this kind of stuff is easier than defeating the Poison Salamander, right?”

I wonder if she was planning to encourage me… because it wasn’t working.
I have sleep resistance but I’m still tempted to sleep. That’s why this is much harder.

I just noticed that it was already late at night.
I should take a bath soon, but before I go to the bath I want to drink some juice.
If I remember correctly there was an iron box around here that you can put money in and juice comes out.
There was an iron box that measures your level at the guild, but if I remember correctly Roel explained to me that these things were made in a country called <Metalika>.
It seem in that country there is a machine that flies in the skies.
Someday I would like to see it, but it’s very far from here and I also just don’t have enough money.

When I walked outside, I felt the pleasant evening wind on my face.
You can see buildings scattered around with lights on.
I wonder what everyone does to pass time.

“I think it was somewhere here…..there it is.”

I immediately took out my money and chose a drink. Roel said she wanted apple. . . . .
Beside the machine there was a person squatting.

“Umm…”

I tried speaking to them but the person didn’t react.
I wonder if this guy is asleep. Let’s try shaking him. I stretched my arm towards that person.
At that moment, the guy raised his face and leapt to bite my arm.
By a hair’s breath I managed to dodge it by backing up. That guy, not wanting me to escape, leapt once again.
No, this thing, it isn’t human.
Its body was covered with fur. Because it was squatting I didn’t notice, but its head and body was 4 times larger than mine.

【Mysterious Monster Appeared!! HP 445】

From its mouth, long fangs became visible and its round eyes became bloodshot.

“Oo…Oooooooo…..”

It raised a groaning voice while it was brandishing his long arms, it was obstinately chasing me.
As if playing with it, I was pretty hard to catch. Then the monster jumped and kicked the building’s wall with its foot and attacked me from the left.
I stepped backwards to avoid it, and without delay the monster turned around and attacked with his left leg.
With fast movement, even though the attack missed, without missing a beat it started its next move.
I wonder why this monster is inside this town…?
Even if I think about it I’m not going to come up with an answer. I should exterminate it.
It would be terrible if there was an uproar.
I don’t have my weapon, but there isn’t any other choice.
I waited until it threw out its arm to try and attack. I caught the arm and with my right hand I hit its stomach.
The monster’s body started to convulse and it collapsed onto the ground.

I looked at the monster that died, sprawled out on the ground. I noticed several shadows running towards this direction from a distance.
Those shadows were 3 men, all covered with armor.
One of them glanced at me and then the monster’s corpse.

“Impossible. Are you the one that defeated this?”

The man had short trimmed blonde hair, an oval-shaped head, and slanted eyes.
He narrowed those eyes while staring at me.
I peacefully nod and, the other 2 guys quickly started cover the monster’s corpse with a walnut colored cloth.

“You’re…unarmed…? I can’t believe this……”

I heard something clinking, and then as if blocking me he pushed something into my hand.

“Tonight, you didn’t see anything.”

And with those words, they vanished into the darkness of the night.
Of course, the monster’s corpse isn’t here anymore.
I don’t understand. I looked at what was forced into my hand. I saw I was grasping 1000G.

Chapter 11 – Mysterious Ghost Mansion 1

It seems the quest document in Roel’s hand is about ghost subjugation.
Even in the <Caves of Hell> I fought Ghost-type monsters, but my sword isn’t effective at all. They are terribly troublesome as enemies.
But I wonder if the ghost there is a monster.

“Well, this is impossible for now. Only magic is effective against Ghost-types, and I still haven’t been able to use any.”

“I can use magic attacks you know.”

“Really?”

Her face had a look of surprise. She looked at me and the quest documents in her hand. Now that I think about it, I haven’t told her I can’t use that many spells yet. I cannot handle all attributes and my limit is only at the intermediate level of magic. Thus, I can’t use any support or recovery magic.

“If that’s the case, maybe we should accept it. It seems that we need a little more to become C rank.”

“Is that so?”

“There is something like points for every quest. They say if you gather those points you can rank-up. It’s something like a secret, how many points a quest gives and how many points you have gathered. Earlier, the guild person was giving signs that we only need a few more to be C-rank, you know.”

“So that’s how it works huh? If its like that, then we need to work hard!”

We decided to take up the quest. But there were others that also accepted the quest.

“You accepted the quest earlier too, right? I’m quite anxious, so if you are going alone can she join you? I’m looking for someone who is a fighter to help her out.”

“Grateful……I’m grateful…….grateful.”

【Tolppo|Lv: 13|Class: Magician|Rank: C】

Saying that, the Glasses guy introduced her to us. It was that eerie person that we went with before, during our time as the relief team at <Strange Plains>. Her pointy hat and muffler completely covered her face, and her body was covered with a mantle and a robe. I can’t really tell how old she is. Since she said that she was grateful she might be not that bad of a person but…she’s still strange.

We immediately went towards the mansion where Francois-san was waiting. It’s my first time seeing such a huge building. You could even call it amazingly spacious, to the point where I wondered what in the world they plan to do in here.
I wonder many tens of Roel’s living room could be fit into here, it’s just that big…
We knocked at the gate that leads inside, and from it an old lady came out. Golden necklace, golden bracelet and ring, ornaments with sparse jewels, and a red dress so bright it hurt the eyes, she was pretty much covered in gaudy materials and was fanning herself.
I don’t know if it that was fashion, but I honestly just think her taste wasn’t that good.

“So you’re the Adventurers that took the quest. Come in.”

The arrogant old lady crudely let us in the mansion. The ceiling was two stories high with a chandelier hanging from it. As I go to sit down I notice stone statues shaped like vases holding flowers at the corners of the guest room. Sitting on the soft sofa that our backs sink into, we listened to the details.

“Can you adventurers quickly exterminate it? Please do it at once.”

“This ghost, where is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay?”

Roel was somehow able to agree, but I didn’t understand anything from way she talked.
Suddenly the chandelier started to shake violently and was swinging left and right.

“Wa-waa!”

Roel clung onto me. Tolppo was silently staring at the chandelier.

“S-see that’s it, right there. You guys should be able to exterminate it, right?”

The old lady was trembling. However, I don’t see the form of the ghost monster.

“This is…….monster…….different…….vengeful ghost…….”

Tolppo was standing alone and muttering. Not a monster but an vengeful ghost, I wonder what those are?
Suddenly the glass on the cupboard started to clatter and shake.

“Ryu-Ryua-chan!”

Roel was glued to me and was already crying.

“Geez! What’s going on!”

The old lady was hysterically shouting towards the empty air.

“A-a-at any rate, how many times has this happened?”

Roel who was still clinging on me was somehow able to inquire calmly.
The agitated old lady turned around and glared at us.

“Even I don’t know such things. I have told you everything already.”

“But we don’t have any clues to work with!”

“Won’t you shut up? It just started happening recently. If you can’t do it I’ll just ask the others to do this quest.”

She was almost hysteric as she explained it, since she was so scared. Roel was also terrified, she wasn’t leaving my side.
Tolppo who was next to us moved slightly.

“Stay at night…….vengeful ghost lively…….at night…….maybe….may…..”

“S-stay?!”

Roel stuttered while looking at Tolppo who was beside us.
Tolppo isn’t wrong, if we can’t see its appearance then we can’t exterminate it.
I don’t know if we can settle this at night but I can’t do anything about it now so I decided to follow her plan.
It’s good that that Roel and I are in the same room. Tolppo silently entered the next room.
The bed inside our room was big enough for 2 people, and on the wall there was a painting of some scenery hanging there. We were the only ones inside this spacious room.
The old lady said she will be providing us dinner for the night.
I went straight to the bed, laying on my back. Roel also got into bed and once again clung onto me.

“Hey, Ryua-chan, I need to go to the toilet. Can we go together?”

“Sure, but be careful, you might fall asleep right away if you lie down.”

“That’s not true!”

I smiled a bit as Roel got mad at my teasing.
After that short exchange, there was a knock on our door.

“Just a moment…..”

The door was opened, and Tolppo came in.
This girl doesn’t have much of a presence at all, rather, she is way scarier than the ghost…

“Talk…….collected ideas……..share…”

Tolppo sat on one of the chairs inside the room and continued.

“Woman……only one in this big mansion…….servants…….not here…….living alone……?”

“Now that you say it, that’s weird. I wonder if she’s married?”

Roel looked over the inside of the room. There were more rooms than this one, I wonder what they are used for. When I originally entered this room I didn’t notice it was somewhat dusty.
I wonder if all these rooms are cleaned…

*knock**knock**knock**knock**knock**knock*

It seems someone came to our door again.
I wonder if it’s the old lady?
But it’s still too early for dinner.

“Yes?”

Roel answered towards the door, but there was no response.
She opened the door and there was no one there.

Again she said something. Because she is talking in fragments it’s difficult to understand her. I feel bad for Roel but if things stay like this I feel like nothing will be accomplished. So let’s explore the mansion.

“So Roel, what will you do?”

She made a face like the world was ending for a moment. I think it would be better to do this alone, but in the end she came with me.
There were other rooms on our floor, stretching far down the corridor to our left and right. One by one we entered the rooms.
There weren’t too many we could enter on the 2nd floor, since all the baths and kitchen were on the 1st floor. We tried opening each room as we went but it seems that we need a key to open them.
We went to the stairway that lead to the living room where we first talked with the old lady, and I saw a figure of a person about the size of a child making a *pitter patter* sound running from the bath and disappearing around the corner.

“Um, I wonder if the old lady has a child? I guess she wasn’t living alone.”

“Ryua-chan, please don’t say something scary……”

Even if you cling to me, I can’t do anything about it. Roel was pulling me hard and dragged me to the corner where the dressing room is. I didn’t sense anyone at all. After we took a look at the dressing room we moved on and found a room as a wide as the one we were talking in earlier. I wonder, do they plan on using something with this much big? I should stop, thoughts like this won’t have something come out.

“Nothing here, now I think we should go that way to the bath.”

“I-it’s already fine right, right?”

If you are this scared we should’ve abandoned this quest. That’s what I thought but, it was Roel that chose this quest.

However, right now, at this time and place, I don’t really know what I should do. ‘I am sure that a Ghost-type monster will appear’ is what I thought, but this situation doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I wonder if we, D ranked adventurers, will be able to settle this incident.
I didn’t see the particular rank designation for this quest so we may not be suitable for it. Even so, if the enemy won’t come out then our way of doing things is wrong.

“Somehow this quest is harder than I thought.”

“About that, I didn’t think much of it when I accepted it, but in the quest document this was dated back to one year ago.”

“What does that mean?”

“In short, in one year no one took this quest, or if they did they weren’t able to settle this……”

“So it’s like that? If it’s that difficult they should’ve let an A rank take it.”

Roel wasn’t able to answer me regarding the rank issue. The client can designate the rank, but in some cases it seems that the guild is the one decides it.
I wonder if the old lady was the one who designated it, or was it the guild?
As I moved my eyes around, I suddenly noticed a door.
It looks like the toilet is in that room over there, so then I wonder what this room is? Let’s try opening it…and the knob won’t turn. I wonder if it’s because of the rust? I tried exerting strength on it.
*thunk* it made a sound and then the knob came off. Then even the door itself came off the hinges.

“Ah……”

“Ryua-chan…….”

Perhaps, no, for sure this time I really broke it. Oops…
Roel who was scared earlier was making a shocked expression.

“There’s no lock?”

I wasn’t really focusing on the murmuring of Roel. Behind the door that I broke I can see a stairway leading down. Everything in the mansion so far was western-styled but this is different…stairs made of concrete, leading down to an unlit place.

“I-is this the storage?”

Roel was clinging onto me so we wouldn’t be separated. She was repeatedly saying “not good” “not good” and was trying to drag me away. Unable to hold back my curiosity I tried going down the stairs.
There wasn’t any light, but I continued going down the dark stairs step by step.
At the bottom there was a small concrete pathway like before. In front of me, there was another door.
Like the previous one it doesn’t have any lock, it looked quite worn and rotting, and it doesn’t seem like it would open.

“Ryua-chan, let’s stop……if we enter by ourselves we will get scolded…”

“But the ghost may be inside this place.”

“Then, I wonder what you are doing?”

Looking up the stairs the old lady was there. Rather than calling it a woman, it looked more like a demon’s expression as we looked at her.

Chapter 12 – Mysterious Ghost Mansion 2

“Really, I wonder what kind of education you people had.”

“Sorry…….”

All we did was lower our head as the old lady showed her anger.

“I’ll look into the repair fees of the door and pay for it. But if you can’t complete this quest I’ll make sure to bring the bill and demand compensation. Okay? If you do this again, I’ll have your neck.”

We went back to our room in low spirits.
I wonder if Roel is still scared. She’s probably only thinking about the repair fees for the door.
As for proof, she was focused on counting with her fingers.
As we walk in the room we see Tolppo standing still with her arm raised.

“What are you doing?”

I asked Tolppo what she is doing and she silently brought down her hands.

“Spirits……..not my specialty…..originally…it’s the priest’s……..thoughtless…..nay…..I’ll do what I can do…..”

It seems that Tolppo is anxious. Although in the end, I didn’t understand why she was doing that pose earlier.
We exchange information about the incident that happened earlier.

“Basement……..I’m sure there is something there…….”

“I wonder if the ghost is there? The old lady wants us to exterminate the ghost.”

“That person, she’s married right?”

Roel stood up, recalling something and murmured

“I think there was a ring on her finger.”

Then that means…I wonder if she has a family.
Certainly, living alone in this big mansion would be lonely.
If that’s the case i wonder where her family is.

“Expected……probably………lady…”

Tolppo said something and at the same time there was a knock on the door.

“Dinner is ready. Come to the first floor dining room. Be sure to drop by.”

She emphasized the “drop by” part, and then the sound of the old lady’s footsteps became distant outside of the room.
We went to the dining room to have dinner.
On top of the table there was beef steak, bread and salad lined up.
As if only just cooked, the steak was piping hot.
I wonder if it’s fine to receive such a gorgeous meal.
About the incident earlier, I wasn’t able to apologize.
The old lady, not saying anything, was just eating her steak.
Not knowing what would be good to talk about, we silently continued to eat.

“Ghost extermination……..tonight…….we will……….”

Tolppo suddenly said that, and the expression of the old lady tensed up.
If things go on like this, we may not be able to fix her mood.
I stood up.

After eating, the bath was heated up and we went to have a bath.
The door I broke earlier that lead to the basement was replaced by a barrier-shaped thing that was forcibly inserted.
Turning my eyes away from it, I took of my clothes and entered the bath together with Roel.
Because it’s wide enough that 3 people can easily fit, I invited Tolppo. But she declined right after I asked.
Even though we are both girls, I don’t really understand her.
I haven’t seen her face but from her voice she is probably a girl.

“It’s my first time inside such a big bath…”

Roel submerged herself in the hot bath and played with the water.
Compared to this bath, ours was quite small for 2 people to enter simultaneously.
On the wall there was a stone statue of lion’s head and from its mouth bath water was gushing out from it.
Thinking about it, you’d probably need a lot of money to make something like this.
Though, that’s pretty obvious so why even think about it.

“I wonder how many years it has been since I entered a bath with another person?”

“Eh, Roel, was there someone who was living with you before?”

Because I thought that she was living alone up till now, it was quite unexpected to hear that.
Now that I think about it, I don’t know much about Roel’s past.

“It was a long time ago, there was a person that helped me before. But that person…isn’t here anymore…….”

Isn’t here anymore…sympathizing with her I stop pursuing the subject..
I didn’t know there was such a person living with Roel.
I was in the <Caves of Hell> for 10 years, so it was natural for Roel to have some [drama] too.
I wonder what she was feeling, but I’m not good enough to tell that from a glance.

“I don’t have any memories of when I was a kid……”

No memories? I really want to know, but that’s bad manners. I don’t want to say it.
I only stayed silent listening to Roel talk.

At that time.

Someone was at the other side of the frosted glass.
It was directly behind Roel, so she wasn’t able to notice.
It was quite a vague image, but I saw a girl standing there.
She was standing and looking towards us…observing us. That’s what I felt.
I wonder if I saw her during the day?

Abruptly the lights within the bath went out.

“Kiii~!”

I hug Roel who was panicking to calm her down.
In the dark I wasn’t able to confirm it but I felt that the girl watching us was no longer there…
While I was hugging Roel, I slowly led us outside the bathroom.
I timidly opened the frosted glass door and started fumbling around to turn the lights back on.
When I finally found the switch, I was met with *click* *click*. The lights won’t turn on.
We had no choice and decided to wear our clothes from earlier.
I wonder if Roel was at loss of words because she is scared, she was rather quiet.
We held hands as we left the room, but on the way it was pretty dark.
I wonder what the old lady was doing, she should’ve been in trouble since she can’t switch on the light.
First of all lets meet up with Tolppo.

When my eyes got used to the darkness we followed the stairs going to the 2nd floor.
There was no one in the living room.
I wonder if the old lady and Tolppo were on the 2nd floor?
To not fall while climbing up the stairs, I was pulling Roel’s hand.

The corridor on the 2nd floor was quiet.
It was dark to our left and right, ‘It was as if this corridor leads to hell’ was what I imagined.
With this much darkness, it had an eerie atmosphere.
Inside the darkness, Roel was attached to me, not letting go.

“After we talk with Tolppo about this we need to think of what we should do next, Roel.”

Roel stayed silent and kept clinging onto my hand.
I didn’t think that this ghost extermination would give me such a hard time.
As per usual, the enemy won’t show itself. I don’t know what course of action to take.
I wonder if the girl I saw at the bath room was the ghost.
If that’s the case, why would it do something this?
That girl should’ve been a normal girl before it became a ghost, I wonder what kind of reason it has?

*bang* *bang* from far away I could hear a door opening and closing.
Immediately after that, the doors inside the corridor opened and closed again.

*bang**bang**bang**bang*

I could hear the doors opening and closing by itself in the dark corridor.
If you compare the darkness to the <Caves of Hell>, this is nothing. I couldn’t feel any presence while walking before, but now I’m certain I can sense different presences.

“Roel, be sure to not let go of me.”

Roel increased her grip on my hand.
As I expected, walking became harder.

“You don’t need to hold it that hard. I won’t run you know.”

“Ryua-chan! Where are you~?”

From far away I could hear Roel’s voice.
No, Roel should be here…not letting go of my hand…

“Ryua-cha~n! Why did you left me behind? Ryua-chan!”

I should’ve been leading her.
The proof is here.

No.

Now, rather than Roel clinging on me, whoever it was had a much smaller stature.
For some reason the grip strength kept increasing.
Long hair, white one-piece dress, small hands that were pure white…rather than saying that, it should be a thin arm.
It should’ve been dark, but for some reason I could see better right now.
Then it slowly looked up at me.

There were no eyeballs. There were only 2 holes, filled by darkness.
A wrinkly face that doesn’t suit a child, it faced towards me.
I couldn’t feel any temperature but I could only feel a chill passing to me.

Chapter 13 – Ghost Mansion of Mystery 3

I was shaking my hand trying to get her off, but her strength was like that of a vice, she wouldn’t let go.
I can’t think of her as a little girl with this much strength..
I knew that Roel was safe, but for some reason I couldn’t use my voice.
No, I wonder if it would even be a good idea to call her in this situation.
Even though the ghost was a kid, I didn’t hold back.
Since she wouldn’t stop clinging to me I slammed her body against the wall.
The wall made a crumbling sound as it collapsed, but she was still attached.
I don’t care about what has to be done in this situation.

“W-what are you? why are you doing this?”

“Le-s pl-y”

It seems like her vocal cords are broken, I was only able to hear a mumbling voice from her hollow face.
I can’t understand what she wants from me, and I shouldn’t try to.
In the first place I should be exterminating this child according to the quest.
It’s sad, but I have no choice.
I left my sword in our room, but my left hand was free since it wasn’t being gripped.
It’s a Ghost-type so a magic attack should be effective.

【Ryua cast Lightning Bolt!】

The little girl was directly hit by flash of lightning.
Being more or less attached to her I also took some damage,
I didn’t really have a choice. As expected she reflexively let go of me.

*Crack* *Snap* Her head began to turn left and right, then her body began to shake as if rebelling.
Her head was slanted to the right, and then the right half of her body bent backward and lowered.
It was as if she doesn’t have any bones, it was such an ominous movement.
She kept repeating those movements as she came closer to me.
I heard a noise from my side, I just noticed Roel was running this way.

“W-w-what…”

Being very scared, Roel wasn’t able to come to terms with the current situation.
Roel wasn’t moving her hand. Closing the distance, I hit the face of the <Little Ghost Girl> with my fist.
I saw the <Little Ghost Girl> get blown up into the air. As she landed her body swayed, recovering its ominous pose.

【Little Ghost Girl didn’t receive any damage HP ???/???】

She kept her posture but her body started to shake like it did before.
This was the first time I fought something like this…I don’t really know what I should do.
I wonder, could I fight back if I had my sword?
If I invoke its effect I’m sure……

“Le.t.. pl.a…y”

Fighting with me was playing to her it seems…but I wonder if it’s really like that.
For such an opponent to exist, I never considered I would encounter something like this.
Exiting from the 100th floor underground, I wonder if that place was actually just the starting point.
It’s been a long time since I tasted helplessness like that place. Before I noticed it, Roel was beside me.

Roel said only one word and the little girl didn’t do anything.
From the hollow eyes of the little girl, a single tear fell.
While Roel was hugging her, the little girl disappeared.
I didn’t understand what was going on. I was only able to watch them.

“Roel, just now?”

“I don’t know, but that child was not evil. I just…felt it.”

“…….This one”

Tolppo was pointing to a man with blood coming out of his head.
He was crying as well, but it wasn’t the same as the little girl. His eye was bleeding and it looked like tears.
I don’t get it. I saw his tears flowing from there, just like the little girl.
The ghost guy didn’t move his legs, it just floated as it went down the stairs.
Tolppo chased after him, and we followed after Tolppo.

The ghost went through the living room, then dressing room, and then stopped at a door. It was the door that I broke during the day.
The ghost pointed at the door and then began turning transparent from his legs and finally his to his head, and he disappeared.

“Isn’t this place……”

I removed the barrier-like wall that had been inserted with my hand. It was somehow my role to do that it seems, and then the door behind it was quickly detached and moved.

“Go down…….”

Tolppo continued to go down the dark stairway.
I wonder what the ghost meant when he pointed at this place.
That ghost wasn’t evil either. I wonder, are there any ghosts here with ill intentions…?
I hadn’t come to a conclusion before I reached the bottom of the stairs.

“It doesn’t look like the door has a lock.”

Tolppo opened the door, and it made a dull sound as it was opened.
It was so dark I couldn’t see anything.

【Tolppo cast Light!】

There was a light coming out from Tolppo’s palm.

“Dungeon exploring…….this is……..indispensable”

Why bring up a dungeon, I thought for a brief moment.
I thought that after being able to see we would be in a room underground but instead there was a long passageway.
I wonder why there’s such thing underneath the mansion.
That old lady got very mad last time we came here, but there is probably something that she doesn’t want us to see in this place.
When we started to walk down the passage, something floated in the air towards us.

【Mortal Ghost appeared! HP 322】

From its head to its chest were bones, and the lower half of its body wasn’t there.
It was splendidly big and was blocking our way, suddenly without saying anything it started to attack.

【Mortal Ghost cast Darkness!】

Mist started appearing in the air and we covered ourselves.
Roel and Tolppo were both completely bewildered from this, so they weren’t able to sense the preemptive attack or ready themselves so they received damage.

I wasn’t able to completely defend Roel.
At the same time I remembered that I hadn’t recovered from the magic damaged I received from myself earlier.
Tolppo quickly did an aria-like magic and immediately counter attacked.

【Tolppo cast Blazeshot!】

The bundles of flame became something like a bullet and crashed into the bone monster.
The bone monster raised something like a roar as it was enduring the burning flames.

【Mortal Ghost was given 86 damage! HP 250/322】

The bone monster was still able to fight. It was making a knocking sound, bones hitting each other as it started to come this way as if provoked.

“Strong…….even though……..weakness………flame…….”

I think that Tolppo’s magic may not be that effective.
She stepped back and prepared again.
Roel cast <Heal> to cure Tolppo’s injury.
The bone monster brandished its arm and swung towards Tolppo.
However, it wasn’t able to hit her.
I had struck its arm first, attempting to break it.
I didn’t want to do it, but I followed up with a straight directly to the face of the skeleton.
The cranium of the skeleton was smashed into pieces, and I followed up with a kick to its ribcage.
The pieces of its body and head fell down on ground, and it started to slowly vanish. Before long it had completely disappeared.

I was the only that looked relieved. I might not be able to see Tolppo’s expression, but she seemed to be in shock about what had just happened.
While she was in the middle of chanting, she had completely stopped to watch me.
But since I forgot to bring my sword, I really shouldn’t bite off any more than I can chew.
I was thinking of going back to retrieve it, but I felt like I would have lost sight of the ghost. I’m really uneasy about the matter regarding the <Little Ghost Girl>.

“Ryua……..what are you…….?”

I don’t know how to answer, so I ignored it.
‘What are you’, huh?
I wonder what I am now, since I’ve lost absolutely everything.
I blink my eyes. Everything will be fine for now as long as I can walk together with Roel.

“It would be quite troublesome if monsters started appearing one after another like that ghost. Let’s continue before that happens.”

As if deceiving myself, we light up our way and started to walk.
I don’t know if Tolppo will believe me if I talked about what happened to me in the past 10 years.
Nevertheless, my attack against the little girl didn’t work even though it worked on the monster I just defeated now. I wonder how it works…
It seems like I still have a long way to go. There are a lot things I need to learn about the outside world.
Through this quest, I can understand a little bit more about it.
Rather than worrying, it would better to be proactive and think about these things.

Chapter 14 – Mysterious Ghost Mansion 4

I had originally thought that this underground area would have a complicated inner structure and was worried that I wouldn’t know where to start, but there was only a straight passage stretching into the distance.
We were attacked many times by the same kind of monster from earlier but I defeated them all.
Because of the range the ghost’s magic had, protecting Roel and Tolppo became troublesome.
But since I have been fighting a long time by myself, I wasn’t afraid of the magic’s range.
“Ryua…..way too strong……”

Tolppo has been carefully watching me the whole time.
I wonder if I should talk to her about what happened to me at the <Caves of Hell>?
It’ll have to be later though, right now we don’t have the luxury of spare time.
On our way down the passage, we eventually came upon an old-looking door.

“I wonder if this is the end?”

“Someone open it? I guess I’ll open it? Then, I’m opening it.”

There was a hand clinging around my waist, so it was quite hard to move.
I gently grasped Roel’s hand and moved it away.
I wonder where the <Little Ghost Girl> who Roel hugged earlier went? I haven’t even see a shadow of her since it happened.

“Here….there’s something…..”

Tolppo murmured, and her tone made Roel’s fear go up a notch. In one go I quickly open the door.

Behind the door there was Francois-san, slovenly hanging from above.
A rope was around her neck, and her mouth was wide open dripping vomit.
Starting from her skirt and running down her leg, excretion dripped onto the floor.

“IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Finally Roel’s fear reached its breaking point. It doesn’t seem like she’s going to separate from me now.
Honestly, I wasn’t able to hide my shock either.
I unconsciously moved back and collided with Tolppo.
I wonder what was going through his, no her mind when she saw the corpse.

There was also the corpse of a mummified little girl and the skeletal corpse of what I assume is a man in the room as well.
It appears that the girl who clung on me and the man who led us to this place are both here.
I wonder, just what the heck happened?
Why did Francois commit suicide here, of all places?
I wonder if this quest will end filled with mystery…

“W-what are we supposed to do…..?”

“…….not yet.”

Tolppo’s expression completely changed and pointed at Francois.
Francois’ exhausted head faintly moved.
Suddenly her head started moving.

“Wa-waa!”

It leaked out a terrible, hoarse voice.

The head of the corpse faced this way.
The loose tongue from her mouth was dangling out. Her eyes on that deathly pale face opened and looked directly at us.
Her neck, like a snail, squeezed itself out from the rope.
Her head bent 90 degrees to the side as she landed on the ground, pigeon-toed. Her gaze was on us.
In the next instant, I can only describe it as expanding and contracting at will, its arm stretched forward aiming towards me.

【Francois appeared! Francois suddenly attacked!】

“Ah!”

I protected Tolppo who was behind me by deflecting the arm with my right hand.
After I blocked the attack the arm fell to the floor, and then as if nothing happened the arm of <Francois> contracted back to its original form.

“W-w-what……..?”

Barely holding on to her staff, there were tears coming out of Roel’s eyes.
I won’t let that thing touch Roel or Tolppo, no matter what.
Even so I feel uneasy about this, especially since when she hit me earlier it had the same sensation as when I had hit the <Little Ghost Girl>. It’s as if it was rubber, but when I hit it I felt no resistance.
I wonder if this is the same as the from earlier?
Even though I defeated that bone monster…

“Yoouuu-n-eed-to-pro-pe-ly-stah-dee”

<Francois>’ mouth was making a gurgling noise as blood was coming out of it.

“iii-ven-eef-yoooo-me-ik-a-smo-ol-mee-ste-ik”

Every time <Francois> talks, bloods spills out of her mouth. Tolppo fired off some magic.

【Tolppo cast Blazeshot!】

A large flame bullet hit <Francois> and she was blown away with her body on fire. After she hit the ground, she just laid there.
Before long, the fire went out. I didn’t see any burns on her body as she stood up.

【Francois didn’t receive any damage! HP 0/0】

“This is…..<Vengeful> ghost-type……as I thought…..useless……”

“<Vengeful> ghost-type?”

It was the first time I heard that word. I wondered if it wasn’t actually a Ghost-type.

It seems a <Vengeful Ghost> is the state before becoming a Ghost-type.
Then…that means that it’s not a monster, and because it’s a <Vengeful> ghost our attacks aren’t effective.

“It’s the first time I……”

I became scared, and Roel powerlessly dropped her staff on the floor.
As I looked at her shivering, I felt helpless.
Even though I promised to protect her I got utterly frightened.
I should be fighting to give her peace of mind, yet I still became afraid.

<Francois> was hitting the floor with her stretched arm as if she was a child. I stepped forward towards her.

“Old lady, don’t you want to kill me? But that’s impossible just so you’re aware.”

I began to provoke her. I was cautious as I could be as I faced her.
I wasn’t sure if I was able to do it properly, but <Francois>’ eyes were staring towards me.
Actually, the attack I took from her earlier wasn’t that big of a deal.
The problem is its invulnerability… I wonder what I should do about that.
Even though it died, it’s kind of ironic that it’s invulnerable. Even so, that invincibility was vexing me.
The stretched arm that was aiming for me was shaking. She was trying to hit me with her palm from the side, like a slap.

“It’s useless you know!”

I took the arm with my left hand, and as I twisted it I flung her to the ground.
This monster doesn’t feel any pain in its current state, it seems.

The arm on the floor twitched and crept up my leg at high speed.
It grasped my leg and at the same time its other hand approached my neck.

“Ah, guuh……y-you……”

“Ryua-chan!”

It was the same as that time with the <Little Ghost Girl>.
No matter how much you pull, its unbelievable strength pins you down.
Even though I trained so much at the <Caves of Hell>, it’s completely useless against this <Vengeful Ghost>.
Roel nearly went mad and started to pull the hand of <Francois> away from me.

“You!! You!!”

But since it was impossible for me, Roel’s delicate strength won’t be able to do it.
I don’t know how, or if, Tolppo was participating in this fight.

“What are you doing! Let go of Ryua-chan!”

<Francois>’ long nails started to dig into my neck, and my breathing started to get rough.
With a cracking sound, <Francois>’ head started to turn left and right 180 degrees from it original position while looking at me from a distance.
This was clearly a return provocation from before. I became serious about crushing her arm, but with its hard rubber-like sensation it didn’t even make her flinch.

I won’t let myself die here.
There is something I have to do here.
Something like you……..

///Tolppo’s Perspective///

I felt something when she easily pulverized the <Mortal Ghost>.
But, this time I felt bloodthirst releasing from her, incomparable to before.
This morning, that girl and Roel has a good relationship, innocently chatting with each other.
But right now it seems like she’s a different person…no, she seems inhuman.
I don’t want to approach that girl.
As I was thinking that, I noticed her peeling the fingers off of the <Vengeful Ghost>’s hand and throwing them away.
I took a couple of steps away from her.

///Ryua’s Perspective///

“Ryua?……who?”

I felt that Tolppo had backed away.
My fingers were currently dug into the corpse’s hands.
I peeled its fingers off of me, and with all my strength I threw it at the wall.
The arm fell from the wall to the floor and it immediately started to crawl towards me.

“<Heal>!”

Roel was frantically using <Heal> on me.
I’m grateful, but I ought to do something about that disgusting arm.
It came crawling to me. ‘As if I would let you do that again’ I thought, and I stomped on it with my foot.
Roel was still using <Heal> on me.

The arm under my foot started to squirm in a weird way.
Its dreadful strength that was trying to escape from my foot became faintly weaker.

“Roel………heal more…….”

I wonder what Tolppo’s idea is, urging Roel to use <Heal> more?
There was apparently no need to say that, she was already wholeheartedly using <Heal> continuously.
<Francois>’ arm convulsed 3 times, and the strength that was being used to escape became weaker.
Before long, the arm that was bathed in <Heal>’s light vanished.
The monster from far away raised a shrill cry while holding the shoulder that the arm belonged to.

“The hand…disappeared…….”

The first one voiced their surprise was Roel.
I didn’t understand what just happened.

If that’s the case, then it’s my turn.
I dashed from the side toward <Francois>.
Even though <Francois> was in agony, she once again tried to catch me with her arm. I won’t let that happen twice, don’t make light of me.
I kick <Francois> from behind, then I turned around and kick her again while she was on the floor.
She didn’t really have a reaction to my kicks which were blowing her away.
I jumped forward, going even faster than <Francois> who was flying from my kicks.
As I caught up, I slammed her head onto the floor making her grovel.

“Eh….ah…..well”

Roel was perplexed as I was pinning <Francois>’ head to the floor.

“Quickly, do it now!”

If this guy stands up I won’t be able to stop it.
I had shouted due to the urgency.

“Y-yeah……<Heal>!”

I wanted to block my ears since the <Vengeful Ghost>’s loud groan was reverberating inside the underground room.
Roel was so surprised that her hand briefly stopped moving, but I’m not going to complain.

The healing light continued to pour onto <Francois>’ body.
Just like her arm, we witnessed <Francois>’ body slowly vanish…

At least, that’s what should have happened.

Chapter 15 – Mysterious Ghost Mansion Part 5

<Francois>’ body twitched and then sprung up.
Before long, <Francois> was twitching rapidly and started to bend into the shape of a bow. At that instant her head expanded to about 3 times its original size, and her skin and eyeballs fell off and hit the ground.
Her head was swollen, and she had turned into a skinless, bony monster with an unnaturally large body.
During all of this, it was rotting away.
From the cracks of its body there were maggots pouring out.
These changes made it look less and less like <Francois>, I don’t think there’s anything left of her in this thing…

“Urp…….”

Roel held her mouth and was somehow able to endure.
The strange rotting smell in the air only added to the disgust and hatred that I felt.
What could be driving her to do this? What could she want to do, even though it meant turning into something like this?
I won’t let something like you defeat me.

【Francois’ form changed!】
【Living Worth appeared! HP 1222】

“Surprisingly…….<Vengeful Ghost>………monster now……..”

“A monster now? So then, that thing is now definitely a monster?

“Perhaps………”

Tolppo muttered, sounding unsure. If it is a monster, this is a good opportunity for me.
Since <Francois> changed from a <Vengeful> ghost-type to just a ghost-type, it means she’s the same as those guys we ran into earlier.
In short, I can crush <Living Worth> with all of my strength.
Even though I say that, <Living Worth>’s atmosphere is way different from those previous mobs. This guy became way stronger than them.
Before Tolppo and Roel get hurt, I should finish this.

“A-a-a-a-a-a-a”

From the <Living Worth>’s voice, it seems that no longer has vocal cords…no, this kind of monster can’t talk.
I decided to aim at the unsteady head and delivered a kick to it will all my might.
I really want to avoid touching this thing with my hands.
On contact the head exploded and some rotten fragments from corpse scattered around the room.

I think I completely lost control of my strength there, the body was barely able to hold on to its head and it was staggering.
This time I jumped and delivered a kick aimed towards the body.
My strike blew <Living Worth>’s body inside the wall, and some chunks from the wall fell on the the floor.
It felt different from earlier, I’m sure there was a reaction. But somehow….it’s strange.

<Living Worth>’s body slowly stood up, staggering just like before.
I wonder if this is some kind of resurrection?
No.
At the <Caves of Hell> there was a monster I fought that had a fierce vigor and its wounds just closed up. This situation is different.

“MAA..III..FA…MEE……LEEE”

The head shouldn’t be able to do speak, I’m sure I heard that from its body.
Roel went near the monster’s body.

“Roel! Its dangerous!”

“I can’t watch this anymore!”

Roel’s eyes are red from crying.
Without a trace of fear she stood before the monster.
The monster was staggering and seemed like it would fall any moment now, but it was somehow able to manage staying upright.

“Francois-san, please stop it now……I don’t know what happened, but if you had any regrets please let us help you as much as we can.
So please, be at ease…….”

After saying that she used <Heal> on Francois.

“IS…IT…FAA…IIIIN…..FFFOOOR…..ME..TO..BE..AT….EASE?”

Francois’ body was wrapped in a faint light, and then she disappeared.

As if the fight earlier was a lie, the underground room was silent.
All that remained was the corpse of the mummified little girl and the skeletal corpse of that man.
Thanks to Roel, we were able to resolve the situation.
However, after all that had happened, this ending was somehow disappointing.

There, in the middle of the underground room, the little girl and the man stood before us.
They weren’t corpses, I guess this is what they had looked like.
Roel immediately ran towards them.
The two smiled towards us.
And then both of them turned into light, and the room became white.

///

I noticed that we were watching a family of 3 at a dining table.
They were happily sitting together as a family.

Next we saw Francois and a woman we didn’t know eating at the table.
The woman was boasting about her own child.
Francois was doing it as well.
Francois smiled.

In the child’s room, Francois was scolding a little girl.
The little girl was forced to sit and study at her desk.

Francois was condemning the man.
The profit of the man’s business, the grapevine field, is declining. She was earnestly mad about that matter.

There are 2 women and Francois.
One of the women was boasting about her sparkling necklaces.
Shortly after, the other woman was boasting about her clothes.
Francois was frantically making a smile.

The man was sitting on the sofa and was holding his head.
Francois did nothing but rebuke him.
With his patience at its end, he hit Francois with all his might.

The little girl tried to leave the room on her own.
She was tied to her stool and wasn’t able to get out to the toilet.
The little girl continued to cry her mother’s name.

Francois was scowling at her household finances book.
With a grim expression, she counted something with her fingers in one hand.

When the man saw her daughter’s condition, the daughter was already dead tired and had collapsed onto the floor.
The man pulled Francois away from the little girl to help her, and Francois was trying to stop the man.
The both of them were struggling, and then Francois was pushed away.
The man carried the daughter outside of the room.

Francois threw a vase at the back of the man’s head.
The man fell to the floor and neither he or the little girl moved, the man’s head was bleeding profusely.

The man was being dragged by the delicate arm of Francois.
Taking breaks here and there, she she eventually reached the underground room.
She kept both of them in there.

Before long, the bizarre phenomenon started happening at the mansion, tormenting Francois.

—Once again the light spread out, and we had returned to the underground room.

/ / /

It was over in an instant, but we saw what happened and everything fell into place.
Well.
Actually it was the ghosts that showed us, so we didn’t really see it firsthand.

“Even though at the beginning they were living together happily…..”

“I can’t believe it either….this is so wrong.”

In the cold underground room, 2 corpses were laid down.
Even though their bodies were dead, they were still alive.
If they hadn’t made that mistake, their appearance wouldn’t have ended up like this.
I wonder what would I do, waiting for an unknown future.
I won’t be able to answer that even if I think about it.

Chapter 16 – Mysterious Ghost Mansion End

“Yes, I will deliver your part of the reward.”

When we came out of the mansion it was already dark, so we decided to split up and meet at the guild in the morning.
When we explained what had happened, the glasses person…..Rintei-san really didn’t believe us.
The guild people investigated the mansion and by the time they had finished it was already evening.
The end result was that it had been confirmed that everything was resolved.
Everything about this quest was strange, it totally exceeded our expectations.

“The client Francois’ corpse has been found. According to the soldiers, one year has passed since her death. She hung herself in her room but because the rope was so decayed she fell on the floor, rotting, and was in an awful state.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
I’m sure that she was still alive when we had discussed the state of the mansion.
She even made dinner.

“Th-then Francois-san who we talked with…”

“Was in fact a <Vengeful> ghost.”

“Wu-wwhaaaaaaaat~~~!”

Rintei raised his glasses with his middle finger.
Roel opened her mouth shouting “Wu-whaaaaaa!”
Even though she did a good job on this quest, it seems she wasn’t aware of some things.
At any rate, is it true that she committed suicide before she gave out the request?
For such a thing to be left alone for a year…

“It seems I was quite inept about handling the quest documents. Why didn’t I notice that this quest had been here for a whole year…”

“Weren’t there any others who took the quest?”

“Yes, let me just…huh? Where did the quest documents go?”

Suddenly, Rintei started fumbling around searching for the quest documents.
He searched everywhere. Under the counter and on the floor, but in the end the quest documents weren’t found.

“I just had it here, didn’t I? That’s weird, it couldn’t have been blown away by the wind…”

“Yeah, it was placed on top of the counter. If someone took it I would’ve noticed it.”

It was as if it wasn’t there to begin with, that one sheet of paper just suddenly vanished.

“The one who found the quest document originally was Roel-san, right?”

“Yes, I was looking for a quest for D ranks.”

“Even so, 1 whole year…Fumu, it’s weird for that to have been here.”

When Francois committed suicide, the quest documents should have disappeared.
The quest we took just now may have been the Ghost’s request.
Ok, that just sounds stupid. Though regardless of how it sounds, it just happened. It was a situation I really couldn’t explain.

“As I thought, it may have been her lingering feelings…There isn’t anything I can do about that.”

Well, disregarding how it all ended, there aren’t any strange phenomena or suffering spirits in that mansion now.
It’s true that I was elated and felt a sense of achievement, but I only solved one case.
With that in mind, I shouldn’t let myself be satisfied with just this.

【Received 4000G reward!】

“Now both of your ranks have been raised from D to C. Congratulations.”

“T-thank you very much!”

“No, it was my fault to begin with”

I finally raised myself to C rank.
With this, we can start taking higher level quests.
Though if I want to raise my rank up to B it seems that I have to take an examination.
I’m currently a Sword Fighter, but if I changed to a higher level class then I can use more techniques.
I’ll become much stronger and be able to quickly improve.
Doing that…I would be one step closer to the “One-winged demon”.

That demon that destroyed my village…I will kill it with my own hands.

“AAA~~!!! You guys are already C rank?!”

I flinched at the sudden loud voice.
I turned around and saw Aude carrying his spear.

“Good, good! Hey, Rintei-san! I worked hard enough so it should be fine for me as well, right?”

Rudely making his entrance, he pushed himself between us and went over to the counter.

“Aude-san, only a little more. Give it your best.”

“Kaaaa~~~! You, I will absolutely outrank you!”

Aude just finished settling his quest, and proceeded to measure his level.
Before I knew it he became a rival. This is clearly going to be a pain.
Just now with Aude being here, with his sudden appearance and rudeness, made my mood a little sour.

The results of checking our levels were as follows; Roel’s level raised by 4 and it seems Tolppo’s level raised by 2.
The bone monster might have given us a large sum of experience, and Francois may have as well.

She thought about it for a while, but it seems she can’t recall it.
Roel was also surprised.
Now that I think of it, I hadn’t told her yet.

“Ryua-chan, that’s amazing…”

I even could even hear Roel swallowing her saliva.
So, within 10 years I was able to reach the end of the 100 floor dungeon and conquer it.
It is something I’m proud of myself for accomplishing.
No matter how dreadful a <Vengeful> ghost is, it won’t be able to dent my pride.
That dungeon…now that I think about it, why did I enter that scary dungeon?
Maybe because I was a child back then.
I totally can’t recall anything about that time.

“I’ll be off here…return to the inn…Ryua, Roel…good night…”

“Yeah, good night. Don’t stay up too late.”

I tried being a little worried, but Tolppo wasn’t particularly responding.
As I thought, this girl doesn’t like being attached.

“You guys…if you have the opportunity…visit…Wizard Kingdom…that…hometown…mine.”

“Wizard Kingdom?”

“It’s a country that develops magic techniques, and is a country full of wizards. I heard that their livelihood is supported completely by magic. Tolppo-chan was a magician there, right.”

Tolppo was starting to walk off as she nodded.
Wizard Kingdom…someday I would like to go there.

Tolppo made an awkward goodbye and walked towards the inn.
We also went back to our home.
Yesterday and today, it was very exhausting.
Ghost-type, Vengeful ghost, becoming a monster, and then Wizard Kingdom.
It was my first time hearing about these things.
As I thought, there’s a mountain of things that I don’t know about the outside world.

“Wasn’t she a little weird, that girl?”

“Yeah, but I think she was just awkward.”

I feel like no matter who Roel is with she would always be gentle with her words.
But I wonder if I was of much use to her this time.

“My stomach sure is empty, and I imagine yours is as well. I haven’t been shopping yet so are the leftover ingredients fine?”

“It’s totally fine, no matter what you make I will eat it.”

“Then, salt soup.”

“No!”

I know that it was a joke but I still pout about it.
Roel was giggling as she smiled, she was thinking of another dish.
Today we were also able to survive, I reflected on the quest while sleeping in a narrow bed.
Tomorrow…is another day, different as always for an adventurer.

I recalled the monster that attacked me while I was on a stroll that one night.
I wonder, what was that monster? Who were those people?
I didn’t want to make Roel uneasy so I hadn’t told her about it.
It’s starting to bother me…but if I talk about it, something might happen to her and she may get hurt…
It would be better if I don’t talk about it, ever.
I think things are fun right now.

The lasting lights of other buildings reminded me of our peaceful and everyday lives.

///Tolppo’s Perspective///

I turned myself away from those 2 and walked while looking at the sky.
Today, if they weren’t there I definitely would’ve died during the quest.
We were somehow able to communicate and soothe the spirits of the little girl and her father. That underground room I was inside of…it seemed like a place that was part of a completely different dimension.
That <Mortal Ghost> is something B rank Adventurers should be able to easily defeat. I’ve had a hard time working in a party.
And Ryua, that girl simply used her bare arms to defeat it.
It seems she trained at the <Caves of Hell>, but I haven’t heard of that dungeon.

——wait, no, I think I heard about it… somewhere…

However, I can’t remember so I can’t do anything about it. If I ask Sage Hasto-sama he might know of it.
I’m baffled by Ryua, but I’m more concerned about Roel, that girl.
I haven’t heard that using Heal on the Vengeful ghost can make it into a Monster.
Originally, a class with a specialty suited for that kind of quest, Exorcist, should be required.
Then the Ghost-type monsters, I still don’t understand much about them.
It may have been because the general concept of humans dying and the aftermath is still an unknown domain.
The living dead, in most cases, endangers people.
I wonder if there is an explainable phenomenon that causes these outrageous events.
It’s really troublesome that there are many monsters like that, and there is a specialty class for dealing with each of them.
It may have been a good quest to take, but back then I thought of abandoning it.
But because the 2 of them came along I felt like I had to do it, though I had a pleasant feeling as I accepted it.

“Those two…who are they…?”

My journey to study is about to end, it’s a good time to return to the Wizard Kingdom.
I may learn something if I ask Vardam-sama.
Inside my mind, even more than studying, the existence of those 2 left their mark.
In the morning, I’ll leave the inn then go trough Avangarde Kingdom Castle to the harbor.
I’m looking forward to an answer for my question, so I quickly went towards the inn.

Monster Book

【Large Ravenous Cobra】
It doesn’t have any poison , but this ferocious cobra can swallow an adult whole.
Due to its flexible movements, adventurers who are inexperienced in battle won’t be able to catch it.
With its strangling strength, it can easily crush a log.

【Mysterious Monster HP:445】
It suddenly appeared in the town where Ryua lives. An oddly shaped monster.
It’s bigger than an adult male, and it is terribly quick-witted.
If the adventurers fighting it are not skilled, they would be instantly slaughtered by its ability.

【Mortal Ghost】
HP: 332
It’s a floating ghost that became a monster after inhaling noxious gas.
It prefers to haunt places with a feeling of loss.
You have to deal with its large array of magic spells and high endurance.
Inexperienced adventurers will not be able to subjugate one.

I feel like Ryua is part of the hero clan that the king of destruction was talking about. 1) Since the heroes defeated the king of destruction, they were probably stronger than him which means there’s a chance that the power is hereditary so it would explain why Ryua is so strong if she inherited he power. 2) Her village seems to be situated rather close to the dungeon so it could have been founded to overlook the dungeon and respond in case the king of destruction were to come back. 3) Since it seems random surprise demon attacks are extremely uncommon, it would make sense if the demon was sent by someone instead of randomly showing up by itself and if that was the case then there must be some reason for people to order for the destruction of the village. If the village was a village with a hero’s bloodline then having someone order the wipeout of the village would make sense.